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Set in the year 2069, Syndicate is a futuristic, stylish shooter that is heavy on looks and features but short on story and substance.

Syndicate puts the player in control of Miles Kilo, an agent for the Eurocorp corporation who is sent out to gather intelligence and sabotage agents from the other two major global corporations, Aspari and Cayman Global. As the story unfolds, you discover the true nature of Eurocorp and become part of a global war between chipped and un-chipped members of society as well as two of the dominant corporations.

Syndicate’s gameplay is certainly innovative and entertaining. The two biggest features are the Breach applications and the DART-6 chip.

The Breach applications allow Kilo to hack into the brains of other agents, overloading their chips and causing them to fight against their allies, have their guns explode and stun them, or even commit suicide. The tactical aspects of the game’s gunfights are certainly enjoyable and provide a deeper level of engagement than your standard rail-based FPS.

(EA)

(EA)

(EA)

While the DART-6 chip is responsible for Kilo’s hacking abilities, the main purpose of the chip is to slow down combat as well as revealing the location of nearby enemies. The ability to slow down time (a la Max Payne) provides the player with a much-needed advantage in the often chaotic, overwhelming close quarters combat. The cover revealing feature also helps the player map out a plan of attack or see if they have killed off all of the enemies in a specific area. Despite the ability to slow down time, players are still required to make on-the-fly decisions and the game’s pace is fast.

While those aspects of the gameplay are some of Syndicate’s brighter points, there are some areas where EA’s shooter fall short, most notably, the cover system, or lack there of. Players are able to crouch and hide behind objects to provide cover in firefights, but what is notably absent is the ability to lock yourself into a covered position. This leads to times where you will be repeatedly struck by enemy gunfire and even lead to death while you believe you are under the guise of cover. The lack a significant cover system in any FPS or third-person shooter is borderline inexcusable, and makes the game overly difficult and frustrating at times.

In addition to that, the skill upgrade system in the game is relatively simple, with players using points acquired from killing other agents to gain upgrades to health, defense, damage and adrenaline. Ultimately, the player is not required to make any major decisions or forgo certain skills because the skill tree is wide open from the outset.

The game’s missions are relatively short, which is another small knock against Syndicate. The game’s story progresses relatively quickly and the run-time on normal will last an average player around 8 hours. Again, the length of the game’s story is not a major issue for a FPS, but things escalate fairly quickly and in an information-heavy shooter like Syndicate, some of the collectibles and data you discover could become footnotes and lost while the player gets caught up in the main story.

Graphically, Syndicate is a very polished title. The gritty, neon-laden slums are just as remarkable as the glossy finish of the futuristic buildings and interiors of the corporate buildings. The sound effects and voice acting (Rosario Dawson and Brian Cox, among others) is superb. Presentation-wise, the game offers a sleek look at the world of 2069.

Co-op mode is available for up to four players and there are nine different missions that can be played. The upgrades and Breach applications are much deeper in the multiplayer mode with 12 different applications as well as 25 chip upgrades and 18 different weapons with a slew of upgrades as well. Playing with four friends and forming your own miniature corporation is one of the best multiplayer modes in a FPS we have seen and a nice break from the standard head-to-head or horde-style modes we are accustomed to seeing.

Final Thoughts: Syndicate is an innovative shooter that combines planning and strategy with fast-paced action. Players will be forced to make decisions on how to approach firefights on the fly and are scored on their abilities at the end of each mission, which provides for a solid level of replayability. The lack of a cover system and simplistic single-player upgrade system do hurt what is otherwise a polished title. With a lack of FPS games on the release schedule for early 2012, Syndicate is a title that is definitely worth a look.